Escalation
by Jake Skywalker
Summary: What if the Covenant conquered Earth? What if the Master Chief died? What if the Pillar of Autumn never made it to Halo? When the only hope for mankind is a kid who can't even hold an assault rifle, you know we're doomed......we're doomed.(I have Halo 2


Disclaimer: I do not own Halo. If I did, this would be published by now.

Written by Jake Skywalker and typed by Anakin McFly.

**STILL THINKING**

**Prologue**  
  
_Forerunner Date: 111400285  
_  
The massive human ship's Slipstream space generators powered up as the human carrier, the _Pillar of Autumn_, vanished into the kaleidoscope of Slipstream space to escape the carnage of the planet Reach. Human and Covenant battleships clashed in the stars, high-intensity plasma beams raining down on the once mighty planet below. On the bridge of the _Gettysburg_, crewmen and technicians hurried across the steel deck shouting orders against the flashing red sirens.  
  
"All crew, prepare for boarding parties!" shouted Admiral Nescombe. The tall, white-haired man in his forties read statistics off his viewscreen. Born on Foundation, a planet which had been glassed by the Covenant, the fair man had quickly become an Admiral due to his ability to lead unwaveringly and his hatred for the alien Covenant.  
  
"Admiral, several Covenant groups have boarded the _Gettysburg_ in Cargo Bays Seven to Fourteen," said the cool, controlled voice of Kelly, the shipboard artificial intelligence. Nescombe turned to a group of Marines armed with MA5B assault rifles and fragmentation grenades.  
  
"You heard the lady," he said. "Blow up them aliens before they blow us up." The Marines nodded and jogged off the bridge. Nescombe turned his gaze back to the viewscreen. "Kelly, did any of the..." He was interrupted by the AI finishing the sentence for him.  
  
"Spartan II's made it off?" the AI asked. Nescombe nodded. "The chances of surviving on the planet are... thirty-five million, three hundred to one and rising," Kelly continued. "However, the _Pillar of Autumn_ was carrying a Spartan. They might have made it."  
  
Nescombe nodded again, grimly.  
  
And then, the bridge of the _Gettysburg_ exploded.

* * *

**Chapter One: Boarding the _Autumn_**

_Forerunner Date: 11140028_

Juscap, the three-foot-tall alien Grunt, nervously fingered his fully charged plasma pistol and fidgeted in his harness. He had just been woken up by his squad Commander Grunt, Yapyap, and the alien now looked around at the interior of the U-shaped Covenant drop-ship where he was.  
  
He was sitting on the right wing with his Grunt friends, two Jackals and a Minor Elite. The former were carnivorous bird-like aliens used secretly by the Covenant commanders as assassins. Armed with an energy shield and a plasma pistol, when hungry, they had been known to eat dead or dying Grunts and humans alike. The Elites were much taller than the Grunts and Jackals, and they carried a wide variety of weapons. They preferred plasma rifles to needlers and favoured energy swords, though the deadly weapons or superheated plasma were reserved for Commander Elites. Needlers were therefore looked upon with scorn. This particular Elite though, Juscap noted, was polishing the purple reflective material of his needler.  
  
With a slight thump and the hiss of depressurisation, the side hatch opened and Juscap leaped onto the _Pillar of Autumn's_ main corridor.

* * *

The wheels of the Warthog jeep drove across the smooth metal of the cargo bay. The _Pillar of Autumn's_ cargo bay was packed with Marines, equipment such as weapons and vehicles and supplies moving around. Despite the thirty-foot-thick Titanium A armour plates lining the interior of the massive cargo bay, the shock as to first Covenant cruiser opened fire was felt throughout the ship.  
  
Sergeant Johnson was a dark-skinned man with dark eyes. His bravery on the field had him promoted to Sergeant. The man checked his MA5B's clip, making sure it was full. Around him, his fellow soldiers grinned insanely.  
  
As the group was running full tilt to the Airlock corridor, a slight sound brought Johnson to a halt. Because he was leading, the other Marines piled up against him. One particularly loud mouthed one was about to complain, when Johnson tossed a fragmentation grenade around the corner. The ensuing explosion stopped the Marine, his mouth half open.  
  
Sergeant Johnson yelled a war cry and charged through the smoke with bravery and stupidity, both of which he was famous for. Due to them, he caught a surprised Minor Elite off-guard. Receiving a smack in the back of its neck, the blue-armoured alien sank to the floor with a low guttural moan.  
  
Johnson looked up... and saw what had interested the Elite so much to the point of ignoring a frag. grenade practically behind him.

* * *

Juscap eyed the Jackals warily as the alien team secured the long, deserted corridor that ended with a blast door. The only way out was in... through a bent door which the Minor Elite ripped through easily. The Elite leading and the Jackals following with the Grunts at the back, Juscap reluctantly took the rear.  
  
Suddenly, there was a small roar from the Minor Elite in front. Juscap couldn't tell if it was one of triumph, anger or surprise, but he knew he didn't want to get involved in it. Obviously, the other Grunts thought the same.  
  
Just as the other Jackals hurriedly dashed over to the Elite, Juscap and the other Grunts ran away as fast as they could back the way they came. As they entered the empty hallway, Yapyap stopped. Behind him, the Grunts tumbled into their leader. Yapyap turned to apologise, giving his reason for his sudden halt.  
  
Humans.  
  
Juscap and the other Grunts gingerly sniffed the air. Sure enough, Yapyap was right. Humans.  
  
"Now what?" a small Grunt asked. There was a sudden explosion behind them, and the troop of methane-breathers squeaked with fright and ran towards a lone lifepod. A Grunt had been killed in there, and the methane leaking was heaven to the other aliens. They ran past startled humans, their squeaks of terror turning into excitement as they ran towards the pool of methane.  
  
However, the humans didn't stay surprised for very long. Primitive, yet deadly projectile bullets sailed pas the Grunts. Yapyap paused for a moment to toss a plasma grenade at the group of Marines before continuing the race to the pod.  
  
The grenade's plasma attached itself to the unfortunate man. He began writhing around, trying unsuccessfully to throw the grenade off. Juscap allowed himself a small chuckle as he jumped onto the Grunt-packed lifepod.  
  
"Get it off me!" were the poor Marine's last words as he was transformed into a blast of green plasma.  
  
Yapyap pressed a small red button with his finger and the doors slammed shut, muting the angry bursts of the humans' primitive weapons. With another loud blast that shook the entire frame of the lifepod, the escape pod plummeted with several others down into the mysterious ring-world.  
  
_TO BE CONTINUED..._ Please review! 


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